Shan Tsutsui

Shan Tsutsui

Shan S. Tsutsui is Hawaii’s Lieutenant Governor. He was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to replace Brian Schatz. A democrat, Tsutsui served in the Hawaii State Senate from 2002 to 2012 and was Senate President from 2010 to 2012.

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Tsutsui of Maui was serving as Senate President when he was appointed Lieutenant Governor on December 27, 2012 to replace Brian Schatz. Schatz left the position to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat created by the death of Daniel K Inouye. By law, the Senate President is offered the Lieutenant Governor job first, but doesn’t have to take it.

With Tsutsui’s appointment, Abercrombie announced the establishment of a Lieutenant Governor’s office on Maui, stressing the state’s “multi-island(ness).”

History

Shan Tsutsui graduated from Maui High School in 1989 and received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Hawaii in 1994.

The lieutenant governor job is a full time position, but while he was a Senator, Tsutsui also worked a business consultant with Atlas Insurance Co. and director of marketing at an investment securities firm. He is a former small-business owner.

He served in the State Senate 2002 to 2012, representing Wailuku, Waihee, Kahului and Paia. Although he never chaired a Senate committee — he was vice chair of Senate Ways and Means — Tsutsui served a stint as majority caucus leader.

Tsutsui was the 12th Senate President of the State of Hawaii. He was Hawaii’s first Senate President from Maui, as well as the youngest.

A revised ethics bill allows lawmakers to accept tickets from a "charitable entity," including labor unions.

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